Science Daily

Ozempic may have revealed the brain’s hidden “craving center”

Ozempic-like drugs appear to weaken more than hunger—they may also reduce cravings for alcohol and other addictive substances. Scientists are increasingly tracing this effect to the lateral septum, a brain region that helps connect memories and surroundings with rewarding experiences. Packed with GLP-1 receptors, it may act as a crucial control point between thinking about a reward and feeling compelled to pursue it. The discovery could open new approaches to treating addiction as well as obesit

science  Aug 12, 2026

NASA News

APOD: 2026 August 12 – Perseids over a Little Planet

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 12 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Perseids over a […]

science  Aug 12, 2026

NASA News

Quality Assessment Report Evaluates Polar Geospatial Center EarthDEM Elevation Products

CSDA’s assessment reports help inform the user community about the quality of commercial Digital Elevation Models (DEMs).

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists turn Starlink into a giant scanner for Earth’s upper atmosphere

Researchers have found a clever new way to map a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere that is notoriously difficult to observe. Using orbital data from roughly 1,200 Starlink satellites, they reconstructed changes in atmospheric density about 500 kilometers above Earth. The approach could sharpen satellite tracking and help reduce the growing risk of collisions in increasingly crowded orbits.

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists discover a hidden brain rhythm that could improve Parkinson’s treatment

Scientists have pinpointed a brain network—and its distinctive electrical rhythm—that appears to drive the benefits of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease. The discovery could lead to more precise, personalized stimulation settings and better results for patients.

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

3,500-year-old skeletons challenge what scientists thought they knew about syphilis

Ancient remains from Vietnam suggest diseases like yaws may have been passed from mother to child thousands of years ago, a form of transmission often assumed to indicate syphilis. The discovery could overturn how scientists interpret ancient infections and complicate the long-running mystery of syphilis’s origins.

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

The adult brain can repair itself better than scientists thought

The adult brain may be far better at repairing itself than scientists once believed. In mice, researchers discovered a special group of support cells called astrocytes that respond to damaged brain tissue by rebuilding lost cellular networks. Rather than simply moving into the injured area, these cells perform a remarkable maneuver: they create new nuclei and send them traveling through long cellular extensions to repopulate damaged regions.

science  Aug 12, 2026

The Guardian Science

Humpbacks return to Rio: the whales are back from the brink of extinction – but will tourism help or hinder?

The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil’s tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexistThe anticipation is palpable onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon.They do not have to wait long. “Eleven o’clock!” someone calls out,

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists turn sheep’s wool into a material that helps regrow bone

Keratin extracted from sheep’s wool helped damaged bone regenerate in animals, producing tissue that was more organized and structurally similar to healthy bone than tissue grown with conventional collagen scaffolds. The discovery could turn an abundant agricultural byproduct into a promising new material for regenerative medicine.

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

James Webb captures a cosmic lion sculpted by a dying star

James Webb has captured a striking new infrared view of NGC 2392, the Lion Nebula, revealing the dramatic aftermath of a dying Sun-like star. At its center, a scorching white dwarf is blasting radiation into surrounding gas and dust, carving out the nebula’s lion-like face while illuminating a sprawling “mane” of surviving dusty clumps.

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

A strange crystal made of electrons just revealed its hidden motion

Physicists have found a new way to peer inside one of matter’s most elusive quantum states: the Wigner crystal, where electrons stop behaving like independent particles and organize into a crystal-like pattern. By shining light on an atomically thin material cooled close to absolute zero, researchers uncovered optical signals that reveal not just where the electrons are, but how they move together.

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists find evidence for two origins of life on Earth

Scientists probing life’s deepest origins have uncovered evidence that the first free-living cells may have emerged not once, but twice. The findings suggest a striking possibility: life may share one ancient genetic code, yet have undergone two separate transitions into free-living existence.

science  Aug 12, 2026

Science Daily

Ordinary WiFi can now identify you with near-perfect accuracy

Ordinary WiFi networks could quietly become powerful surveillance tools, allowing people to be identified without cameras, special sensors, or even carrying a connected device. Researchers showed that unencrypted signals routinely exchanged between WiFi devices and routers can be used to create radio-based images of people and recognize them within seconds. In tests involving 197 participants, the system identified individuals with nearly 100% accuracy, even from different angles and regardless

science  Aug 12, 2026

NASA News

Stops Along the Path of Totality

Western Iceland and northern Spain are among the few Northern Hemisphere locations experiencing a total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026.

science  Aug 12, 2026

The Guardian Science

‘It’s going to be spectacular’: Millions flock to Spain seeking best view of total solar eclipse

Eclipse chasers, tourists and astronomers searching for the clearest skies to watch the two minutes of totalityThe online forums are abuzz as people debate potential cloud cover and trade tips on the best viewing points. Hours before wide swathes of Spain were set to experience the country’s first total solar eclipse in more than a century, the excitement was palpable.“It’s going to be spectacular,” said César González, an astronomer and science communicator at the Madrid Planetarium. “A total s

science  Aug 12, 2026

NASA News

What Is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope? (Grades 5-8)

This article is for students grades 5-8. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s newest astrophysics observatory. The telescope will scan large sections of space. Roman will help astronomers answer questions about dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, and more. ______________________________________________________________________ Words to Know Astrophysics: a branch of space science that applies physics and mathematics to […]

science  Aug 11, 2026

NASA News

NASA Completes Astronaut-Deployed Science Instrument for Lunar Surface

NASA has declared “wrenches down” on the first completed payload designed for Artemis astronauts to deploy on the Moon’s surface. Engineers working on NASA’s Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, or LEMS, have completed hardware development and testing and the payload is ready for its permanent home near the lunar South Pole. With the hardware complete, LEMS […]

science  Aug 11, 2026

NASA News

Lion Nebula Roars in Webb’s Sights

Observing across the starry “plains” of space, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken new images of NGC 2392, nicknamed the Lion Nebula. The nebula’s “mane” is clear and detailed in this image released on Aug. 10, 2026, due to Webb’s high-resolution imaging. See more images of the Lion Nebula from Webb. Image: NASA, ESA, […]

science  Aug 11, 2026

The Guardian Science

We’re reading less. And it’s making us stupid

Books have never been trendier, but studies show that as more and more things compete for our frazzled attention spans, we’re reading less and less. This is a problem because reading has a wealth of cognitive benefits that we’re in danger of missing out on.To find out why declining literacy could affect everything from memory to IQ, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample. She also hears from Prof Falk Huettig, an experimental psychologist at the Max Planck Institute

science  Aug 11, 2026

NASA News

NASA Telescopes Create Colorful ‘Craft’ From Nearby Nebula

Like a collage made of layered sheets of colored cellophane, a vibrant new image layers observations of a famous star-forming nebula from NASA space telescopes. The resulting cosmic “craft” reveals new details about the star formation region known as 30 Doradus, or the Tarantula Nebula. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighbor galaxy […]

science  Aug 11, 2026